InterCity (Switzerland)

[4] As of the December 2022 timetable change,[update] there are eleven InterCity routes in Switzerland, ten of which carry numbers.

Most run on an hourly schedule:[5] Initially, the main difference between InterCity and conventional express trains was the presence of air-conditioned passenger coaches.

SBB's only other large series of air-conditioned coaches, the Eurofima, were already in use in international traffic due to the quality criteria required for EuroCity trains.

The Rail 2000 project was also marked by the entry into service of the compositions of IC 2000 double-deck passenger coaches towed by Re 460 electric locomotives capable of 200 km/h.

The opening of the Lötschberg base tunnel at the end of 2007 to passenger traffic reduced the journey time between Spiez and Brig from approximately one hour to 35 minutes while inserting one more train every two hours and creating a node connection at Visp station with trains running on the Simplon line.

The commissioning of the Gotthard base tunnel for mainline traffic during the timetable change of 11 December 2016 has reduced the journey time of InterCity trains running from Basel and Zurich to the canton of Ticino.

Finally, the Ceneri Base Tunnel was put into service for the InterCity traffic during the timetable change on December 13, 2020, allowing an additional time saving of 20 minutes between Bellinzona and Lugano in the crossing of Ticino.

Electrical outlets are also integrated into the tablets while the reception of radiotelephony waves is improved in order to anticipate the use of 5G in trains.

During the timetable change in December 2019, the first Bombardier TWINDEXX Swiss Express trains were deployed on the IC 3 line connecting Basel, Zurich and Chur.

When the timetable change in December 2021, it is planned to extend the IC 5 trains running from Genève-Aéroport to St. Gallen once an hour to Rorschach station.

The quarter-hour rate in InterCity traffic is also planned for the sections from Geneva to Lausanne as well as from Bern to Zurich and Frauenfeld.

In German-speaking Switzerland, the creation of the IC7 line will create a half-hourly service from Bern to Frauenfeld via Aarau, Zurich Central Station and Winterthur, via the Brütten tunnel.